Butano's GameLogBlogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=470Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64) - Thu, 06 Mar 2008 02:07:04https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3004GAMEPLAY: So my second playthrough of this game didn't go as well as I expected. After completing the first actual mission/temple, everything that I did to make things better just goes back to crap after you go back in time. So I got a little flustered after that because when I went back to get an item, it wouldn't allow me to go to the temple again! Definitely a pain in the butt playing this game after hearing so many good things about it. I like Ocarina of Time and I also liked the new Wii release, Twilight Princess, but Majora'a Mask has just been frustrating to me. It's really annoying when you need to do a mission, but forget where to go, because they only tell you once of where to go, and if you forget, then too bad. Really annoyed by that also. My opinion of this installment of the Zelda series would have to be that this is the worst of them all. Too many things that need to get accomplished within a short amount of time in a game that usually lets you take as much time as you want to complete a mission. I just got really pissed off when all the progress I did on the first temple just suddenly goes back to where I had to start when I needed to go back in time because of running out of time. DESIGN: The story that this game isn't very new, other than the items used in it. Find a mask, save the land. That's the general story of Majora's Mask. This game is pretty much a direct sequel to Ocarina of Time. You start off leaving Hyrule and princess Zelda gives you the Ocarina of Time, so later on in the game, you use the ocarina to do certain things, much like Ocarina of Time. The gameplay in Majora's Mask is definitely different from other Zelda games. You have a time limit to complete mission/temple and if you run out of time, you can use the ocarina to go back in time. The catch is, is that you lose pretty much all the progress you made on your mission plus all of your cash and items, such as arrows, when you decide to go back in time. The biggest thing I hated about this game was the save feature. Originally, you could go to the pause menu, press save, and the game would save your progress. Majora's Mask completely destroyed that and decided that you only need to save each time you either go back in time or decide to go to a save statue to save your progress. This irritated me straight off the back when I couldn't save until I had played for about an hour and received the ocarina of time. But there are some things that Majora's Mask does well. It has more missions, which is always good, and it has a cool mask power feature. When you complete a boss, you get the boss's mask, which contains all the evil in the boss that you can use to do certain things. It's almost exaclty like Capcom's Mega Man, where every time you beat a boss, you get that boss's power. Even though I'll still play through the game, I don't think that this is one of the better Zelda titles I've played. The idea is good, but there are just too many bad things that follow with that idea.Thu, 06 Mar 2008 02:07:04 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3004&iddiary=5876Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64) - Wed, 05 Mar 2008 04:18:29https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3004SUMMARY: In The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, you, Link, are on a quest to find an evil, magical mask that has the power to destroy the world. You have 72 hours(in game, not real) to find the mask, using your Ocarina of Time to manipulate time to make it either go back or forward. GAMEPLAY: Majora's Mask was confusing at first, just like Ocarina of Time was, like figuring out where everything is and how to solve certain puzzles and stuff. The intro to the story was sort of long, so I had to play about an hour and a half to figure out what was going on. Since I had played previous Zelda games before, I was expecting a slow start and no real combat until later, but in Majora's Mask I was surprised that for the whole prologue you run around as a Deku child, due to a curse that a skull kid puts on you. The one crucial thing about Majora's Mask that annoyed the snot out of me was the fact that you couldn't save UNLESS you had the ocarina of time, which took me around an hour to find. I had fun playing the game, but I felt a little lost because there are no points on the map that tell you where everything is. I'm sure that as I get deeper into the game, the story will open up and the gameplay will play a little bit faster and smoother than starting off. If they had a save feature in the pause menu, I think I would have enjoyed the game a little more instead of having to keep on playing until I found the ocarina to save my game. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Wed, 05 Mar 2008 18:49:12.)Wed, 05 Mar 2008 04:18:29 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3004&iddiary=5648Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) - Thu, 21 Feb 2008 02:33:39https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2882GAMEPLAY: After playing Shadow for a second time, nothing has really changed. I probably felt more annoyed by it this time. I've heard numerous opinions of the game, and they're all different. Some people think it's amazing, some think it's just a piece of crap. I think this game just isn't the hype people make it sound to be. I never did get much more story out of it. Every Collosus you kill, the god tells you to kill another one and gives you a riddle of where it is located. I will give the developers credit that the fights are never figured out the same way as the last boss you beat. Again, I just never felt connected to the main character as I thought I should be. Going out and looking for the monsters just felt like a huge chore, cause lots of them are somewhat hard to find. I probably won't be finishing the game, cause it's just not that replayable. DESIGN: Let's start big. The level design for this game is what was put in the most. The play area is just absolutely huge. Probably just a little to huge, for there being nothing at all in between the Collosi. They did a fantastic job with what you could climb and what you could not. Another good thing about the game were the bosses. Each fight was different and challenging and required you to think. The only things that were the same were that you had to climb on the monsters and stab them in certain areas to do damage, but getting there required some strategy. But the good things about the game just don't weigh out with the bad things about the game. Absolute worst thing is the camera. It felt like I had to do whatever the camera wanted to go, even if it's blocking my view of what I'd like to look at. Another horrible thing is your horse. Zelda: Ocarina of Time has better horse control than this game. Starting out your horse is a chore because of all the weird commands it thinks your telling it, when you're just telling it to go forward and to the right a little. The story itself is just bad. There's very, very little depth to it at all. You're a boy who takes a girl to an alter, and the only way to save her is by killing big ol' monsters that will kill you. It doesn't say at all whether this girl is the main character's love or if it's his mother, or if it's just some random girl he found and wanted to rescue. If you're looking fo a storyline, don't have this game at the top of your list. Going from boss to boss is just annoying. You have to look EVERYWHERE to find it, and there are no challenges standing in the way of you, like enemies. It's just a really boring game of hide and go seek, cause the bosses can hide really well. I am not a fan of the game, though it's not a bad concept. If it had been processed better, I probably would have enjoyed it. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Thu, 21 Feb 2008 02:43:12.)Thu, 21 Feb 2008 02:33:39 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2882&iddiary=5423Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) - Thu, 21 Feb 2008 02:15:13https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2882SUMMARY: In Shadow of the Colossus, you are a man who takes his fallen lover to an alter to bring her back from the dead. A god confronts you and tells you that the only way to bring her back is by slaying Collossi - huge living statue creatures that roam the world. You then take your sword, bow, and climbing physique to slay these creatures. GAMEPLAY: I really didn't know what I was expecting when I started playing Shadow. The first thing that annoyed me right off the bat was that I didn't get to actually "play" the first 10 minutes or so because of a really really long cutscene that tries to explain the story, which doesn't really help much. But afterwards, I was out fighting the camera and horse controls and slaying huge monsters at the same time. I didn't think it was really that exciting. All you do is kill huge statue things. There's nothing in the middle that you confront on the way to the monster, so there's not much excitement there. I was really having a hard time with the camera controls and riding the horse. The controls just didn't feel right to me. I didn't have any real connections as to why I had to complete these ridiculous tasks. Yes, the character wants his lover to live again, but there's no backstory to either of the characters of how they know each other. I felt that it would have been a waste of time killing all these monsters to just let one person live. I'm sure there might be more to the story further on, but after killing four of the monsters, there hasn't been any revealings yet.Thu, 21 Feb 2008 02:15:13 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2882&iddiary=5390Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) - Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:18:55https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2782SUMMARY: In Shadow of the Colossus, you are a man who takes his fallen lover to an alter to bring her back from the dead. A god confronts you and tells you that the only way to bring her back is by slaying Collossi - huge living statue creatures that roam the world. You then take your sword, bow, and climbing physique to slay these creatures. GAMEPLAY: I really didn't know what I was expecting when I started playing Shadow. The first thing that annoyed me right off the bat was that I didn't get to actually "play" the first 10 minutes or so because of a really really long cutscene that tries to explain the story, which doesn't really help much. But afterwards, I was out fighting the camera and horse controls and slaying huge monsters at the same time. I didn't think it was really that exciting. All you do is kill huge statue things. There's nothing in the middle that you confront on the way to the monster, so there's not much excitement there. I was really having a hard time with the camera controls and riding the horse. The controls just didn't feel right to me. I didn't have any real connections as to why I had to complete these ridiculous tasks. Yes, the character wants his lover to live again, but there's no backstory to either of the characters of how they know each other. I felt that it would have been a waste of time killing all these monsters to just let one person live. I'm sure there might be more to the story further on, but after killing four of the monsters, there hasn't been any revealings yet.Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:18:55 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2782&iddiary=5215Starcraft (PC) - Sat, 09 Feb 2008 02:38:52https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2332GAMEPLAY: Well, after playing it for a second time, it became clear to me how to finish levels. Get as much minerals and gas as you can QUICKLY and build lots and lots of soldiers before the enemy gets you first. This usually isn't quite a shock to me when I play an RTS game, but it just surprised me at how fast the enemy was at getting ready and then deploying their attacks while I'm struggling to get things built and talents researched. Though the game can be difficult at times, there were still some challenges that had you feel great after completing them. Though I've only been able to play as the Terrans so far, I'm looking forward to completing the storyline of them so that I can play as the Zerg or the Protoss. DESIGN: There were lots of things Blizzard Entertainment did well with Starcraft. They put in a sort of rock-paper-scissors engine with each soldier or vehicle and had them really well for some things, but then just terrible at others, for example, the space marines. They're pretty much the only thing you really need to use, but you have to use them while they're in a large group, because if they're by themselves, they have no chance against anyone. The maps aren't as big as the current RTS games, but they're big enough to do what you need. There were only a few complaints I had, such as not ever having more than 1 person either help construct a building or harvest gas. I don't know if they're going to change that for the second Starcraft, but it definitely got really annoying when you wanted to construct something fast, like in Age of Empires. Another complaint I had was only being able to have around 8-10 people in your group that you could move around as one unit. If I want to select a large group to attack a space colony, I want it to be as one large unit, not 3 or 4 waves of troops moving to a location that is either: a) already destroyed and beaten. or b) already killed your first two waves before they could make it to the desired point. Starcraft was a fantastic game, in my opinion. A little easter egg they had was having the troops say random and hilarious things if you keep clicking on them if they're already selected. Starcraft was one of those games, I'm sure, that inspired future RTS games with how they handled and enjoyable they needed them to be.Sat, 09 Feb 2008 02:38:52 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2332&iddiary=4867Starcraft (PC) - Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:27:57https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2332SUMMARY: Starcraft is a real-time space strategy game, where you can play as three races. The Terrans (Humans), the Zerg (Alien), or the Protoss (Alien), who each have specific abilities and goals. The goal of the game is to complete missions, either by destroying the other player, acquiring enough resources, or by retrieving special objects, such as data pads. GAMEPLAY: I love strategy games, and Starcraft was one of the few that I never really got to play until now. It's your basic RTS game: gain resources (in this it's minerals and gas), build armies of different varieties, dominate the other player before he/she dominates your etc. What I thought was neat about the game was that you are able to play as 3 different races, which meant 3 different storylines that you could follow if you paid attention to the story and not blow right through. Even though the game would be considered "old" or "classic" because of the 1990's visuals and limited openness, it's still a blast to play. The first few missions are your basic tutorial missions. Showing you what's what and who's who and what they all mean to the game. But after going through those first missions, the gameplay picks up. The mission I just finished after 3 tries had you survive for 30 minutes with limited resources available. I figured since the game was fairly old the AI wouldn't be great...wrong! It's still beatable, but you have to think up some strategy to ration what goes into what. After playing it for a first time, I'm ready to pick it back up.Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:27:57 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2332&iddiary=4463Gradius (NES) - Fri, 25 Jan 2008 19:25:38https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2022GAMEPLAY: The second time playing through Gradius was almost the same as the first, just probably more infuriating because I still couldn't get farther than my previous stopping point. Nothing new happened with my second experience. It still was the 2D side-scrolling space shooter I'd played before. DESIGN: Gradius was very well developed, back on the NES's timeline. Very entertaining but challenging game. You can do multiplayer and have a friend join along, which probably would be the best solution if you're trying to get through the entire game, which from what I've read, is only about 7 levels. The music is like any other 8-bit video game music. Sort of catchy, but nothing too fancy. Definitely not as catchy as the original Mario Bros. theme. The one thing that i was really surprised at was the whole upgrading your weapons when you want, rather than instantly getting them when you collect them. It was a very good idea, and it improves your ability to "think on your feet," meaning when it's an appropriate time to launch the power-ups. Overall, Gradius wasn't anything too special, but it definitely is a great game if you need to lose some time quickly.Fri, 25 Jan 2008 19:25:38 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2022&iddiary=4097Gradius (NES) - Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:44:57https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2022SUMMARY: Gradius is a side scrolling space shooter that you pilot around, collecting and activating power-ups to finish bosses and levels. GAMEPLAY: While the game is fun at times, the difficulty is ridiculously hard. You collect power-ups which you can then "activate" to get: faster ship speed, wider shooting range, more powerful bullets (lasers), shield, or a buddy ship to help you along. The game only gives you 3 lives, and so far I haven't been able to see if I could increase it by points or whatnot. What made the game interesting to me was how the power-ups worked. You collect them, but then you can "choose" what power-up you want to activate, depending on how many power-up icons you collect. 1 power-up gets you speed, 2 gets you double bullets, 3 gets you missiles that you launch to the ground, 4 gets you lasers, 5 gives you a buddy, 6 gets you a shield. What's neat is that you get to choose which one to activate, which is necessary for a strategy against your opponents.Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:44:57 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2022&iddiary=3916Jade Empire (XBX) - Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:00:01https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=16212ND PLAYTHROUGH GAMEPLAY: Well, round two for this game went way past the minimum requirement. Spent about 5 hours playing it and it still holds its replay value. A new function came up when during the game I had to find airplane (known as Dragonflies in the story) parts to get to the next chapter of the game. It opened up a sort of mini-game that plays almost exactly the same as Space Invaders, except the plane you're controlling can move forward and backwards as well as left and right. You collect powerups to increase damage and increase your shields. The game still keeps you on your seat and makes you want to complete more missions to unlock the story elements that you don't want to miss. It did, however, get a little slow sometimes when talking to an NPC took about 10 to 20 minutes to get a mission. The combat was still as fun as the first time, and at times it makes you want more of that rather than walking around finding missions. DESIGN: I have always been impressed by BioWare, not by just their stories and gameplay, but how much time they spend looking up or creating back-stories to each character they present. Each person you have join your party always has an interesting history that they either gladly tell you about or try to keep secret from you. Sometimes the people you meet have goals that conflict yours, for example, if you decide to show mercy to someone, the person you have as your follower will have his or her own opinion of what you did. BioWare also did lots and lots of research behind Eastern mythology to create an amazing fictional universe. Even though Jade Empire doesn't have nearly as good a graphics as BioWare's recent game Mass Effect had, it does do a good job of level design and player control. There's usually more than one way to get somewhere, often having paths that form a circle to get somewhere. Player control is exactly what BW wanted, having you make choices to whatever you want, whether it's how to deal with a demon or having to find a husband for a woman who's a leader of the local gang. The few complaints I have about the game are common glitches, autosave features, and teammate AI. The glitches Jade Empire had was usually lag. If you put in a button-mashing combo during combat, sometimes it either wouldn't pick it up, or would do too many attacks, having you attack at nothing. It would also be skipping frames during dialog scenes, making movements somewhat choppy. The autosave feature Jade Empire has certainly isn't the best I've seen. Usually it saves about every 30-45 minutes during loading times, but when you've completed a quest or two in between those times and you die during a current quest, it gets rather annoying having to go back farther than you planned on. The biggest thing you learned was to save often manually instead of waiting for the autosave to kick in. The last complaint was teammate AI. There are two forms for your teammate that you can choose to have them in during combat: Attack and Support. The attack form usually has your teammate killed almost instantly, having all the enemies pointed toward you, so I found myself always putting him/her in support style, since it points all the enemies toward myself anyways and has the partner boost up one of my stats. The game overall is very fun, if you're a RPG fan. This might not be for all gamers, but the story is very intriguing, having you play for hours before coming to a stopping point. It's not perfect, but it certainly will have you playing for about 30-40 hours per character. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Tue, 15 Jan 2008 00:44:42.)Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:00:01 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1621&iddiary=3627